Residents call for closure of garbage dump

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandar Lampung

Residents of Bakung, Kuripan and Kateguhan villages in West Telukbetung district, Lampung, are urging local authorities to close down a nearby garbage dump due to health concerns.

They alleged that the dump, located just 600 meters from their homes, had contaminated up to 60 percent of public wells and was the source of thick smoke from the burning of garbage.

"I have to spend Rp 125,000 to buy clean water every month. For us this is big money as my husband is only a laborer," said Mrs. Ridwan, 40, of Bakung village.

She said she had not been able to use water from her artesian well since 2002 as it was badly contaminated. Since then, she has been forced to buy at least 25 liters of clean water every day.

"Malaria, coughs, and skin rashes are common illnesses around here. Look at my hands, these red spots are the result of a skin rash. We still use the groundwater for bathing although we know that it is contaminated," Budi, a Bakung resident, said.

Flies are legion around the 13-hectare dump.

"We want the dump to be closed down as it has become a source of disease and pollution," said Ahmad, 36, of Kuripan village.

Local residents have set a deadline of one month for the Bandar Lampung authorities to resolve the problem. Any failure to do so would force the residents to forcibly close the dump, they say.

Built in 1992, the dump receives some 1,644 cubic meters of garbage everyday from the provincial capital Bandar Lampung and its surrounding areas.

Bandar Lampung Mayor Suharto, however, played down the complaints of the local people and insisted that the dump would continue to be used for the next five years.

He said that it would take time for the administration to acquire land and obtain the necessary funds for the construction of a new garbage dump for the city.

Bandar Lampung Sanitary Office director Khasrian Anwar said there were no plans to build a new garbage dump at the present time as the Bakung dump was designed to have a life of 10 years.

"We do have plans to build small-scale garbage dumps in a number of districts, but it is impossible to relocate the Bakung dump right now," he said.

Khasrian also promised to deploy four fire trucks and an excavator to deal with the smoke problem. He said that 50 truckloads of soil would be needed to cover up the burning garbage and that the work would be finished within a week.

As of Thursday, however, the smoke was still thick, resulting in eye irritations among residents.

"We can manage the fly problem, but we cannot cope with the clean water problem or replace the dead trees as this is beyond our jurisdiction," Khasrian claimed.

Khasrian said that the Bakung dump had been built to international standards and was originally located far from residential areas.

"But, now residential areas have encroached on the dump so it looks like that the dump was built near them," he said.